With so many major releases typically timed go on sale to take advantage of the holiday shopping season, you’d think that most of the choicest music of any given year are records issued during the September-November timeframe.

Mike Keneally’s “Popes” saunters in like an amiable friend, then proceeds to begin telling ever more complex and entertaining tales — making for an intriguing introduction to the forthcoming You Must Be This Tall.